Big Ten players go 1-2 in Joel Klatt’s first 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Fox College Football Analyst Joel Klatt dropped his first 2026 NFL Mock Draft the day after Super Bowl LX concluded the NFL’s season. This year’s Draft will kick off with the Las Vegas Raiders holding the first overall pick, and former Big Ten players could be hearing their names called early if Klatt’s predictions hold up.

The Big Ten Conference boasts the last three National Champions, and Klatt sees Big Ten players going off the board in droves for this Draft. He started his first mock draft on Monday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show with two players from Big Ten teams kicking off the first round selections.

New Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, who just won a Super Bowl Sunday night as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, has needs across the board after taking over a team that went 3-14 this past season. One of those needs is at the quarterback position, and that is where Klatt sees Las Vegas going with the first pick in April’s NFL Draft.

Las Vegas can secure their franchise quarterback in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza with the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. — The Las Vegas Raiders will have a chance to secure their franchise quarterback in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza with the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The quarterback position is not particularly deep in this year’s Draft, but there is a clear No. 1 heading into the final couple months before player selections are made, and that is the reigning National Champion and Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza from Indiana. While Las Vegas could trade the first pick and get a bounty of additional picks and/or players, the chance to secure your franchise quarterback should be too valuable to pass up.

“Fernando Mendoza had a remarkable career in college football,” Klatt said. “I got a chance to sit and talk with him a few different times during the course of the year and was always impressed with him. This guy is a football nerd in the best sense of the word.

“What I loved about Fernando Mendoza more than anything else is that when his best was needed, he was great.”

Mendoza played just one season at Indiana after transferring from California, but in that one season he led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record, Big Ten Championship and National Championship by throwing for 3,535 yards and accounting for 48 total touchdowns.

Joel Klatt sees a lot of similarities between Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese (8) and Micah Parsons. — Joel Klatt sees a lot of similarities between Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese (8) and current NFL star edge rusher Micah Parsons. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The New York Jets sit with the No. 2 pick in this year’s Draft, and while head coach Aaron Glenn would love to shore up the quarterback position after starting three different players under center this past season, there is not likely to be a passer who merits selection at this spot assuming Mendoza goes off the board at No. 1. If the Jets do not trade out of the second spot, Klatt sees them going with Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese with the No. 2 pick in April.

Reese is a 6-foot-4, 243-pound defender who is entering the Draft after just three seasons at Ohio State. Following a 2025 campaign in which he recorded 6.5 sacks among his 69 total tackles, Reese was selected as a consensus first team All-American and was named the Big Ten’s Linebacker of the Year.

“(New York’s) entire roster is decimated,” Klatt noted. “(Pick No. 2) is where I think you can take best available and a real impact player, maybe the best player on the board, and to me that’s Arvell Reese from Ohio State. He’s a versatile defender, and that’s what you can use at that level. He reminds me so much of Micah Parsons.”

The Big Ten has won the last three National Championships, and could have double digit Draft selections in April. — The Big Ten has won the last three College Football Playoff National Championships, and could have double digit Draft selections in April. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A total of 10 players made the first round of Klatt’s mock draft, with Ohio State boasting the most total selections at five. This after Ohio State led all teams with 14 total players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft following their National Championship season.

The NFL will hold its 2026 Annual Player Selection Meeting April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.